Up River Without a Paddle
by Lauraline94
Summary: When a mission doesn't go as planned, Mac and Jack find themselves up river without a paddle. First installment of the Opening Scene series. Please read and review!


AN: It's been so long since I have been able to write! Unfortunately, I've become one of those fanfic authors who starts a bunch of stories and never finishes them. But, I'm hoping to change that. I've decided that I am going to make a point to write, because it is something I love to do.

I started this story forever ago. I was really upset that they got rid of Jack on the show (and don't even get me started on his last episode..ugh it was awful). I really miss the Mac and Jack bromance. The bromance is what made the show great and what got me interested in the fandom. I've been turning to fanfiction for the bromance that is no longer there.

This story is the first installment of a series that I am going to do. I've decided I am going to make my own series of "opening scene" one shots. The fun opening scenes with Mac and Jack in a sticky situation was another thing that I loved about the show. They still have them, but they are not the same without Jack. Anyways... I've decided to make my own and this is the first one. Since I started this fanfic a while ago, I am not sure of the timeline in regards to the show, so you can place it wherever you would like. Hope you enjoy. Please leave me a review!

Up River Without a Paddle

"I told you this would work," Mac yelled over the raging water of the river's rapids. "The slope into the river had the perfect angle for the raft to gain enough acceleration."

Mac gripped the side of the inflatable raft as a wave crashed over the edge, soaking him and filling the raft with more freezing water. The water was so cold it stole his breath and sent a chill that cut straight to the bone. Mac cautiously turned to look at his partner at the back of the raft. Jack was dripping wet and holding onto the raft with a white knuckle grip as it rocked back and forth, threatening to capsize. If they hadn't gone from one life threatening situation to another Mac would have found his partner's look of misery almost comical. It appeared his partner was enjoying the cold water ride just as much as he was.

Jack shot him a small smile through slightly blue- tinged lips."Yeah, I had no doubt, bud. But I'm not sure this is much of an improvement. You got us away from those angry villagers, but now we are literally up a river without a paddle."

Mac braced his arms against both sides of the raft and tried to account for the rough movement and the constant sway of the raft. The last thing he needed was to be thrown over the side.

"We can figure out how to get to shore when the river calms down," Mac said peering at his partner through the wet strands of hair that hung in his face. _**If **__the river calms down Mac couldn't help but think to himself._ Judging by the look on Jack's face, his partner was thinking the same thing. Neither of them were familiar with the area. They had no idea if this river would ever calm down.

Normally, Jack would insist everyone going into the field do extensive research into the area of the given mission. Jack was a master strategist and knowing the lay of the land always came in handy. Jack's Delta training had pushed this tactic so much, that it was deeply ingrained and had become instinct for Jack. A sniper always needed to know the area to find the best perch and to have the best vantage point. Jack carried this over to every mission possible, whether he would be sniping or not. Learning as much as you could before-hand could make the difference between life and death.

Unfortunately, not every mission allowed them time to prepare. This had been one of those missions. It had come on the tail end of another, and that meant they had gone into this with very little information, not to mention extremely tired. It was just part of the job. However, Mac wished they had been given some information on the river nearby. Of course hindsight was 20/20.

Mac turned away from Jack to look down river. It was hard for him to see through the constant spray of water that assaulted their raft. Squinting, all he could see was more rough waters ahead. It wasn't looking very hopeful that they would be getting safely to shore anytime soon.

"Uh….Mac?"

Mac turned his head over his shoulder to glance at Jack. "Yeah?' Mac asked, his throat starting to hurt from the strain to be heard over the loud water.

"We have another problem,bud…" Jack gave him a small frown.

Mac looked at him expectantly as the raft did an unexpected twist catching him by surprise and causing him to roughly slide to one side. Mac would have gone over the side had it not been for Jack's quick reflexes and his sturdy grip. Mac felt Jack's hand fist in the back of his shirt. His partner's grip stopping his forward momentum that would have surely resulted in him being lost in the rough rapids that surrounded them.

Jack quickly pulled him back into the center of the raft and didn't let go until he was sure that Mac was not in immediate danger of taking an unexpected swim. Mac didn't fail to notice the way Jack tightened his grip on the side of the raft and reached an arm out, almost hovering, ready to grab him if the wild raft once again threatened to throw him over the side.

Jack moved a little closer to Mac. "You know how we did the whole raft sled thing into the river like the one and only Dr. Jones? Which was awesome by the way…..well the slope must have been rougher than in the movie. We're losing air…"

Mac cursed under his breath. That's just what they needed. Because being in a small raft in rough waters wasn't enough…. His brain quickly sifted through their options but his mind was drawing a blank. No ideas were coming to mind. Not only were they lacking any kind of supplies or materials, but the rough waters would make it nearly impossible to engineer anything.

"Not to add more stress to the situation, but we're losing it pretty quick," Jack sputtered through the water that was streaming down his face as they were hit with another wave. To emphasize his comment Jack pointed to the side of the raft near him. The side had been full of air, but was already becoming deflated.

Jack shot him a wide, encouraging smile. It was as though his partner knew he was struggling to come up with a solution. "Can't you… I don't know… make us an oar or something? Ooh, maybe a grappling hook like Batman to drag us to shore?"

Jack always seemed to have an unwavering faith in Mac's abilities and believed he could do anything. Mac always appreciated Jack's stalwart faith in him, but this time he felt that it was ill placed.

Mac shook his head. "Maybe if I had something to make them with, but it's pretty hard to make something out of nothing," Mac said as he gestured around the small and empty raft with one hand while his other hand kept a firm grip on the raft's side.

"Wait, you're telling me that you've got nothing?" Jack directed back with a questioning stare and a not so subtle hint of concern. Mac knew his partner was worried about him. Jack hadn't said anything to him directly, but Mac could tell that Jack thought that the whole ordeal with his father was stealing his focus, interfering with his work, and affecting his overall well-being.

The concerned glances that Jack had been giving him throughout the mission hadn't gone unnoticed and definitely gave his partner's feelings away. The betrayal by his father had been on his mind a lot recently, but it wasn't the reason for his lack of plan. It rarely happened, but every once in a while there was something he couldn't fix with his Swiss Army Knife.

He honestly didn't have a clue how to get out of this one. Their escape had been a hasty and rash plan. He hadn't thought past the actual act of escaping. Even if he could reach the hole, which he couldn't, there was nothing to use to fix it. It appeared Jack was right and their impromptu slide into the river wasn't as smooth as Indiana Jone's daring escape. The rocks on the steep slope must have torn a hole into the bottom of the raft.

Mac let out a long sigh and rubbed a hand down his face."What I'm telling you is that I hope you don't mind going for a swim," Mac shouted over the loud rush of the water around them.

Jack looked at the rough torrent of water around them and then to the rocky rapids ahead, before his gaze went back to Mac's. "You can't be serious…," Jack shouted trying to be heard over the noise of the water.

"Sorry partner, but I'm dead serious." Mac said, hoping his face conveyed his feeling of remorse. He felt bad for getting his partner into this situation and felt even worse that he couldn't come up with something to get them out of it. He hoped his partner knew that.

Mac could basically see the apprehension melt away from Jack's face, followed by acceptance. Jack's original apprehension was replaced with a sort of excitement at the prospect at the new challenge. Mac could see the moment that Jack donned his specific-to-Jack bring it on attitude. Jack took one last look around, met Mac's eyes with a look of calm, shot him a smile, and gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "You know what? I could go for a swim."


End file.
